Test Bank Chapter 1 The Ideas That Shape American Politics

Chapter 1: The Ideas that Shape American Politics

Test Bank

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 01

1) How many public officials, in total, do Americans elect?

Feedback: factual

a. 500,000

b. 300,000

c. 700,000

d. 100,000

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 02

2) On how many occasions did Americans inaugurate presidential candidates who got fewer popular votes than their opponents?

Feedback: factual

a. Ten

b. Five

c. Three

d. Thirteen

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 03

3) How long are the Supreme Court justices’ terms?

Feedback: factual

a. They are elected for a term of two years.

b. They are appointed for life.

c. They are elected every four years.

d. They are appointed for a term of ten years.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 04

4) The Supreme Court is an example of an

Feedback: factual

a. idea.

b. institution.

c. individual.

d. interest.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 05

5) In a republic, who is in charge?

Feedback: conceptual

a. The people

b. The president

c. The Supreme Court

d. The bureaucracy

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 06

6) In Early America who could get ahead with hard work and a little luck?

Feedback: applied

a. Enslaved people

b. Women

c. White men

d. All of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 07

7) The world’s longest running democracy is

Feedback: factual

a. Canada.

b. England.

c. United States.

d. France.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 08

8) In early New England citizens gathered in _______ to make decisions.

Feedback: conceptual

a. town meetings

b. the capital

c. private homes

d. business organizations

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 09

9) The idea that those who carry out day-to-day operations of government are in control is known as

Feedback: factual

a. pluralist theory.

b. elite theory.

c. social movement theory.

d. bureaucratic theory.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 10

10) The major difference between political theories is

Feedback: conceptual

a. who wrote them.

b. who is in charge.

c. who is elected president.

d. the major institutions at work.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 11

11) Benjamin Franklin believed Americans must be _______ to maintain their republic.

Feedback: applied

a. vigilant and active

b. quiet and inactive

c. willing to run for office

d. willing to serve in the military

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 12

12) What is pluralist theory?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Pluralism is the ideal of multicultural coexistence.

b. Pluralism suggests that people can influence government through the many interest groups that spring up to champion everything from fighting for energy independence to banning abortions.

c. Pluralism suggests that people can influence politicians by advocating their views on a large scale.

d. Pluralism is the idea that one can believe in both Christian and Muslim religious tenets.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 13

13) Where does pluralist theory say that influence is displayed in government?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Religious groups

b. Interest groups

c. Political groups

d. Unions

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 14

14) According to pluralist theory, where is political power located?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Interest groups

b. Political machines

c. Religious groups

d. Bureaucracy

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 15

15) Where does elite theory place the location of political power?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Rich in government, the judicial branch, and the military

b. Rich in college institutions, businesses, and the Central Intelligence Agency

c. Rich in unions, corporations, and banks

d. Rich in government, corporations, and the military

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 16

16) What is the source of influence according to those who support elite theory?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Status based on economic influence and religious background

b. Status based on economic influence and leadership position

c. Status based on economic influence and academic background

d. Status based on economic influence and party affiliation

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 17

17) Those who support social movement theory believe that the location of political power is

Feedback: conceptual

a. controversy.

b. religion.

c. protests.

d. economy.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 18

18) According to social movement theory, government is influenced by

Feedback: conceptual

a. protest.

b. student demands.

c. unions.

d. personnel demands.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 19

19) Which of the following movements is an example of social movement theory?

Feedback: conceptual

a. The Tea Party

b. Occupy Wall Street

c. The civil rights movement

d. All of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 20

20) What theory holds that all political outcomes—elections, the passage of a law, even mass rallies—are the aggregate of the public’s individual interests?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Political-choice theory

b. Rational-choice theory

c. Mass-choice theory

d. Public-choice theory

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 21

21) The four “I’s” the textbook focuses on are

Feedback: factual

a. Ideas, Institutions, Interests, Idiosyncrasies

b. Ideas, Institutions, Intelligence, Individuals

c. Ideas, Institutions, Interest, Individuals

d. Internationalism, Institutions, Interest, Individuals

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 22

22) What idea comes up most often in American history?

Feedback: applied

a. Democracy

b. Freedom

c. Constitution

d. Independence

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 23

23) Who was fighting in Iraq when he realized how important the study of ideas was?

Feedback: factual

a. Helen Williamson

b. Steven Johnson

c. Russsell Burgos

d. Henry James

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 24

24) Why did Captain Burgos believe the United States launched the war in Iraq?

Feedback: factual

a. Ideas

b. Individuals

c. Land development

d. Retaliation for attack

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 25

25) How many times does the word “rights” appear in the original Constitution?

Feedback: factual

a. 0

b. 5

c. 10

d. 13

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 26

26) Who famously said, “as government expands liberty contracts”?

Feedback: factual

a. Patrick Henry

b. Dwight Eisenhower

c. Richard Nixon

d. Ronald Reagan

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 27

27) Benjamin Franklin knew that popular governments are

Feedback: factual

a. hard to keep.

b. easy to keep.

c. expensive.

d. stress free.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 28

28) Alexis de Tocqueville, a French visitor to America in 1831–1832, was amazed by the widespread _______ in America.

Feedback: conceptual

a. equality

b. instincts for living

c. patterns of life

d. inequality

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 29

29) How many of the Declaration’s signers owned slaves?

Feedback: applied

a. 56 of 56

b. 92 of 100

c. 41 of 56

d. 8 of 10

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 30

30) Americans distrust government _______ people in most wealthy democracies.

Feedback: factual

a. more than

b. less than

c. about the same

d. variable amounts

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 31

31) What percentage of Americans say a representative democracy is a good way to govern the country?

Feedback: factual

a. 86 percent

b. 40 percent

c. 65 percent

d. 61 percent

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 32

32) What percentage of Americans say a direct democracy is a good way to govern the country?

Feedback: factual

a. 67 percent

b. 86 percent

c. 40 percent

d. 21 percent

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 33

33) What percentage of Americans say rule by experts is a good way to govern the country?

Feedback: factual

a. 67 percent

b. 86 percent

c. 40 percent

d. 21 percent

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 34

34) What percentage of Americans say rule by military is a good way to govern the country?

Feedback: factual

a. 67 percent

b. 40 percent

c. 21 percent

d. 17 percent

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 35

35) What is the percentage of total wealth in the United States owned by the top 1%?

Feedback: factual

a. 40 percent

b. 22 percent

c. 67 percent

d. 15 percent

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 36

36) The Constitution begins by stating

Feedback: factual

a. the basic functions of government.

b. the reasons for revolution.

c. the office of the presidency.

d. a list of grievances.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 37

37) The annual federal government budget, according to the text, is

Feedback: factual

a. $4.8 trillion.

b. $1.5 trillion.

c. $3.3 trillion.

d. $9 trillion.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 38

38) In 2020 what percentage of Americans said the government should act to reduce economic inequality?

Feedback: factual

a. 78 percent

b. 100 percent

c. 80 percent

d. 64 percent

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 39

39) More than _______ percent of all federal government spending goes to just four programs.

Feedback: factual

a. 75

b. 50

c. 65

d. 80

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 40

40) Which four programs collectively receive the largest share of federal government spending?

Feedback: factual

a. Education, human services, Social Security, and Medicare

b. The military, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid

c. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and education

d. The military, education, Medicare, and Medicaid

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 41

41) The expenditures of the four largest programs of the federal government total over _______ trillion dollars.

Feedback: factual

a. 3

b. 1

c. 5

d. 7

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 42

42) The fear of too much government dates back to the

Feedback: factual

a. Great War

b. Civil War

c. Colonial Times

d. Great Depression

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 43

43) Cars stop at red lights as a result of

Feedback: applied

a. common law.

b. accepted practice.

c. government regulation.

d. interest groups.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 44

44) Who sets the rules for society?

Feedback: factual

a. Governments

b. Interest groups

c. Corporations

d. Religious organizations

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 45

45) What is meant by the expression “The United States is a nation of immigrants”?

Feedback: conceptua

a. America is a country where people from different countries can come to work and vacation and then return home.

b. The United States is a nation where people from a few countries can come to live.

c. The United States is a country where individuals come to reinvent themselves.

d. All of the answer choices are correct.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 46

46) When did the Puritans land in Massachusetts?

Feedback: factual

a. 1700

b. 1597

c. 1802

d. 1630

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 47

47) In the New World, some colonists came up with a remarkable phrase: they considered themselves a community of saints, a “city on a hill.” What is meant by this phrase?

Feedback: conceptual

a. They were a model for the whole world to follow.

b. Their new home was located on a hill.

c. The New World was their Heaven.

d. None of the answer choices is correct.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 48

48) Who did Governor John Winthrop expect to be watching the new settlement?

Feedback: factual

a. English monarchy

b. French farmers

c. English townspeople

d. All people

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 49

49) In what year was the level of economic inequality in the United States similar to other wealthy democracies?

Feedback: factual

a. 1980

b. 1970

c. 1960

d. 1890

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 50

50) An illustration of national differences in economic inequality arise from the

Feedback: factual

a. minimum wage.

b. health care cost.

c. home ownership.

d. salary gap.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 51

51) How much more does a CEO today make versus an average employee?

Feedback: factual

a. One hundred to two hundred times

b. One thousand times

c. Ten to twenty times

d. Three hundred to five hundred times

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 52

52) American public policies (and opinion) often endorse

Feedback: factual

a. equality for all.

b. welfare programs.

c. individual identity.

d. race to wealth.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 53

53) Studies show that members of Generation Y (millennials), on average, are more responsible, harder working, and more law-abiding than the generations that came before. Which of the following are they more inclined to do than their predecessors were?

Feedback: applied

a. Volunteer

b. Donate a higher share of their income to charity

c. Start entrepreneurial organizations with social impact

d. All of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 54

54) Millennials were born between

Feedback: applied

a. 1945 and 1965

b. 1963 and 1973

c. 1972 and 1982

d. 1981 and 1996

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 55

55) What is a republic?

Feedback: conceptual

a. A government in which citizens rule indirectly and permit elected representatives to make decisions

b. A government in which rests power in the elite

c. A government that rests no governing power in people but instead allows a single individual to exercise sole political control

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 56

56) When most people talk about politics, who are they thinking of?

Feedback: factual

a. Individuals

b. Institutions

c. Ideas

d. Interests

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 57

57) Political scientists stress which aspect of government?

Feedback: factual

a. Ideas

b. Institutions

c. Individuals

d. Interests

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 58

58) An example of a government institution is

Feedback: factual

a. Chicago City Council.

b. the Nevada Legislature.

c. the Marine Corps.

d. all of the above.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 59

59) A form of government in which the people hold power is a

Feedback: factual

a. republic.

b. democracy.

c. dictatorship.

d. monarchy.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 60

60) As _______ left the Constitutional Convention in 1787, a woman stopped him. “What kind of government have you given us?” she asked. He responded, “A republic, madam—if you can keep it.”

Feedback: factual

a. Thomas Jefferson

b. Benjamin Franklin

c. John Adams

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 61

61) _______, a republic that had collapsed during ancient times, was highly influential on the founders of the United States in the development of the Constitution.

Feedback: factual

a. Athens

b. Barcelona

c. London

d. Moscow

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 62

62) A government in which citizens rule indirectly through elected representatives is a

Feedback: factual

a. democracy.

b. dictatorship.

c. republic.

d. parliamentary system.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 63

63) What does the political term institutions mean?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Organizational establishments

b. The organizations, norms, and rules that structure political action

c. The mindsets of a political environment

d. The establishments of the political elite

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 64

64) Which of the following is an example of an institution?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Congress

b. The Red Cross

c. Occupy Wall Street

d. All of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 65

65) Which of the following is an example of an institution?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Little League

b. News media

c. The Daily Show

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 66

66) Which of the following is an example of an institution?

Feedback: conceptual

a. The Supreme Court

b. United Way

c. Families

d. All of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 67

67) Which of the following is an example of an institution?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Parent-teacher association

b. Knights of Columbus

c. Department of Homeland Security

d. All of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 68

88) _______ provides health care for people over the age of sixty-five.

Feedback: factual

a. Medicare

b. Welfare

c. Social Security

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 69

69) _______ provides health care for some poor people; about half of this program’s spending goes to people over the age of sixty-five.

Feedback: factual

a. Financial aid

b. Medicaid

c. Social Security

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 70

70) Compared with citizens in many other countries, citizens in the United State pay _______ in taxes.

Feedback: factual

a. more

b. less

c. somewhat similar amounts

d. almost identical amounts

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 71

71) American leaders issued a Declaration of Independence explaining their revolutionary actions. Which of the following encapsulates their ideas?

Feedback: conceptual

a. “That all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

b. “That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Government with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

c. “That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 72

72) The Declaration of Independence explained the role of government—securing each individual’s three rights. Which of the following is one of those rights?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Life

b. Family

c. Success

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 73

73) The Declaration of Independence explained the role of government—securing each individual’s three rights. Which of the following is one of those rights?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Wealth

b. Land

c. Liberty

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 74

74) The Declaration of Independence explained the role of government—securing each individual’s three rights. Which of the following is one of those rights?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Freedom of religion

b. Pursuit of happiness

c. Property

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 75

75) Which of the following is not one of the eight big ideas espoused in the Declaration of Independence?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Liberty

b. Individualism

c. Freedom of religion

d. Equality

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 76

76) Which of the following is not one of the eight big ideas espoused in the Declaration of Independence?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Land ownership

b. Self-rule (which is often called democracy) c. Limited government

d. American dream

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 77

77) Which of the following is one of the eight big ideas espoused in the Declaration of Independence?

Feedback: conceptual

a. The American dream

b. Equality

c. Faith in God

d. All of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 78

78) The Declaration of Independence states that people form governments for what purpose?

Feedback: factual

a. Voting

b. To secure rights

c. To colonize other lands

d. To provide citizenship

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 79

79) What percentage of Americans belong to a church or religious organization?

Feedback: factual

a. 95

b. 40

c. 51

d. 13

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 80

80) Why did eighty thousand enslaved people join the British during the Revolutionary War?

Feedback: factual

a. The royal governor of Virginia promised them freedom.

b. The royal governor of Virginia paid them.

c. They did so out of loyalty.

d. They were forced to by King George III.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 81

81) What was the motto for the enslaved people who fought in the Revolutionary War?

Feedback: factual

a. “Freedom for the slaves”

b. “Freedom for all”

c. “Liberty for the slaves”

d. “Liberty and justice for slaves”

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 82

82) What is the definition of freedom?

Feedback: factual

a. The government will protect your life, liberty, and property from the coercion of others (excluding government) in order to permit you to pursue the goals you define for yourself.

b. The government will protect your life, liberty, and property from the coercion of others (including government) in order to permit you to pursue the goals you define for yourself.

c. The government will protect your life, liberty, and happiness from the coercion of others (including government) in order to permit you to pursue the goals you define for yourself.

d. None of the answer choices is correct.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 83

83) What is the definition of negative liberty?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Freedom is the limitation of constraints.

b. Freedom is the absence of constraints.

c. Freedom is the inclusion of constraints.

d. None of the answer choices is correct.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 84

84) What is the definition of positive liberty?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Freedom to pursue one’s goals with certain government restrictions

b. Freedom from government control in pursuing one’s goals

c. Freedom from constraints

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 85

85) President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as the nation prepared for World War II, proclaimed that the nation was fighting for four freedoms. Which of the following is not one of them?

Feedback: factual

a. Freedom of speech

b. Freedom of worship

c. Freedom of oppression

d. Freedom from want

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 86

86) What does “freedom from want” call for?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Helping people to obtain a home

b. Helping needy people who have fallen on hard times

c. Helping people to achieve the American dream

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 87

87) President Roosevelt adhered to which viewpoint?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Negative liberty

b. Positive liberty

c. Both negative and positive liberty

d. Social democracy

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 88

88) In _______, citizens participate directly in making government decisions.

Feedback: conceptual

a. a Republic

b. a Democracy

c. an autocratic state

d. a libertarian state

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 89

89) What is a referendum?

Feedback: conceptual

a. A bill

b. A recall

c. A direct vote by the people on an issue

d. A measure to kill a bill

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 90

90) How many states allow referendums?

Feedback: factual

a. Seventeen

b. Ten and the District of Columbia

c. Twenty-seven

d. Thirty

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 91

91) _______ permit the public to circulate a petition that proposes a new law or amendment.

Feedback: conceptual

a. Initiatives

b. Referendums

c. Ballots

d. All of the answer choices

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 92

92) When did Dr. Martin Luther King give his famous “I Have a Dream” speech?

Feedback: factual

a. 1962

b. 1955

c. 1963

d. 1969

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 93

93) Which of the Founding Fathers was strongly in favor of maximizing democracy?

Feedback: factual

a. Thomas Jefferson

b. George Washington

c. James Madison

d. Benjamin Franklin

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 94

94) What percentage of Americans believe that direct democracy is a good way to govern?

Feedback: factual

a. 67%

b. 86%

c. 17%

d. 40%

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 95

95) The foundation of American politics is

Feedback: applied

a. democracy.

b. checks and balances.

c. eight big ideas.

d. republicanism.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 96

35) The idea that comes up in American history most often is

Feedback: conceptual

a. democracy.

b. voting.

c. independence.

d. liberty.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 97

97) The Family and Medical Leave Act (1993) requires employers with more than fifty workers to allow up to _______ of unpaid leave for pregnancy, adoption, illness, or military service.

Feedback: factual

a. one week

b. five weeks

c. twelve weeks

d. fifteen weeks

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 98

98) What is the basis of individualism?

Feedback: conceptual

a. The idea that individuals, with some assistance from the government, are responsible for their own well-being

b. The idea that individuals, with some assistance from society, are responsible for their own well-being

c. The idea that individuals, not society, are responsible for their own well-being

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 99

99) What do social democrats believe?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Members of a society are responsible for one another but should also receive some assistance from the government.

b. Members of a society are responsible for one another and should also support people in developing countries.

c. Members of a society are responsible for one another.

d. None of the answer choices is correct.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 100

100) Social democracies are based on _______, the idea that people have a tight bond and are responsible for one another.

Feedback: conceptual

a. solidarity

b. social cohesiveness

c. interdependence

d. social collaboration

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 101

101) Explain pluralist theory.

Feedback:

Interest groups.

Supports transparency.

Influence through organization, resources, and connections.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 102

102) Explain elite theory.

Feedback:

“Power elites” in government, corporations, and military control society.

Usually hidden or secret.

Make major decisions for society to advance their own interests.

Status based on having leading and controlling positions in society.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 103

103) Where does control lie in bureaucratic theory?

Feedback:

People who carry out day-to-day operations of modern government.

Establish policy.

Sideline the influence of most Americans.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 104

104) What is social movement theory?

Feedback:

Popular uprisings or movements.

Spontaneous.

Lower-status people can be a part of them.

Strength of demands of the masses gives them influence.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 105

105) Explain the distinction between Medicare and Medicaid.

Feedback:

Medicare is health care coverage for people over the age of sixty-five.

Medicaid is health care coverage for poor people.

Medicaid is a program jointly implemented with the states.

Both were created in 1965 as part of the Great Society federal government efforts to eliminate poverty.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 106

106) Explain the principle of checks and balances.

Feedback:

No one government institution has the ability to enforce its will in government without the cooperation of the others.

Separation of powers into judicial, legislative, and executive functions.

Part of the ideas outlined in Federalist 10 to address the “mischief of factions.”

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 107

107) More than 65 percent of all federal government spending goes to just four programs. Cite the four programs, and explain what they do.

Feedback:

Military—national defense.

Social Security—steady income for people over age sixty-five and people with disabilities.

Medicare—health care coverage for people over age sixty-five.

Medicaid—health care coverage for some poor people; half of spending goes to people over age sixty-five.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 108

108) The United States is a republic. But do you believe that the power rests with the people? If not, why?

Feedback:

Explain the ideas of a republic—elected representatives of the people holding power.

Discuss whether elected representatives reflect the concerns and ideas of the people.

Provide evidence and/or examples of situations in which elected representatives do not reflect the concerns and ideas of the people.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 109

109) Elaborate on the main tenets of rational-choice theory.

Feedback:

Discuss the approach to politics that views people as rational and decisive actors who know their political interests and act on them.

Discuss how the public evaluates costs and benefits of choices.

See how choices of individuals are expressed through collective action.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 110

110) What are two definitions of politics according to your text? Which do you agree with? Are the definitions similar or different? Discuss the similarities or differences.

Feedback:

Who gets what, when, and how.

Politics is how a society makes its collective decisions.

Provide personal opinion backed by factual discussion.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 111

111) Discuss how institutions affect behavior. Discuss the meaning of institutions and their role in government.

Feedback:

The organizations, norms, and rules that structure political action.

Various institutions of government can be discussed.

Examples of how rules change acceptable behavior based on situation.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 112

112) How does the budget show the government’s priorities? Why is this important? What is the effect of the major spending categories on the budget?

Feedback:

What the government spends money on are the priorities.

Large share of budget to military and older people.

85% of budget to major categories.

One out of every 6.6 Americans is over sixty-five years old, yet this group gets a disproportionately large share of the budget.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 113

113) As Benjamin Franklin left the Constitutional Convention in 1787, a woman stopped him. “What kind of government have you given us?” she asked. According to legend, the wise old Franklin responded, “A republic, madam—if you can keep it.” Do you believe that we have “kept” the republic?

Feedback:

Explain what a republic is.

Discuss the issues facing the Constitutional Convention.

Explain elements of the Constitution that addressed major issues.

Explain elements of the Constitution that were not addressed as a government by the people could have addressed them.

Discuss whether the republic created by the Constitution was “kept.”

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 114

114) Name three types of “interests” that political scientists pay attention to in determining whether political outcomes are interest based.

Feedback:

Explain the theory of pluralism.

Discuss the role of interests in establishing government priorities.

Name three interests that political science is referring to.

Name other approaches to politics (social movement theory, elite theory).

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 115

115) Discuss the theories political scientists have developed to describe where power lies in American politics and how it is utilized to affect government.

Feedback:

Pluralist theory: power in the people.

Elite theory: power in the hands of wealthy and powerful individuals.

Bureaucratic theory: control lies with those who carry out day-to-day operations of government.

Social movement theory: citizens wield power when they organize.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 116

116) Explain the theory of American exceptionalism.

Feedback:

America marked by distinct ideas.

America unique among the nations of the world.

America should share its values with the world.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 117

117) What eight ideas provide the foundation of U.S. national government and lie at the core of what makes America unique?

Feedback:

List eight values (liberty, self-rule, limited government, individualism, American dream, equality, religion, diversity).

Discuss importance of each.

Give examples of how one or more of the ideas influences politics.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 118

118) Briefly define negative liberty.

Feedback:

Cite the definition.

Mention how this contrasts with the idea of positive liberty.

Provide an example.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 119

119) Briefly define positive liberty.

Feedback:

Cite the definition.

Mention how this contrasts with the idea of negative liberty.

Provide an example.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 120

121) To which view of liberty did President Franklin Roosevelt adhere?

Feedback:

Cite the President Roosevelt’s pre-WWII “four freedoms” speech.

List the four freedoms—freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear.

Explain how these ideas affected the New Deal.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 121

121) Explain the meaning of referendum.

Feedback:

Discuss the definition.

Provide examples.

Explains how referendums influence American government.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 01 Question 122

122) Why are initiatives important?

Feedback:

Define initiatives.

Discuss citizens proposing laws and/or amendments.

Discuss public participation in lawmaking.